quote, marginal but not substantial. that is exactly how first read describes the bout governor romney got. a brand new round of nbc news polls in ohio show the president was up by eight points, he is up by six. in florida the president has held steady. still up by one point in that key state. we know what florida means and in virginia where the president had a two point lead and he now leads by one. now to tonight's debate in danville. l look at the headline from lexington's kentucky herald. in vp debate, gop looks to boost momentum, dems want to steady the ship. advisors are saying biden and ryan will be aggressive tonight. here's the bp scoreboard going on. according to the latest pew poll, 40% of those surveyed believe congressman ryan will outdebade the vice president. only 34% believe biden will win

this thing. ryan also has the upper hand when it comes to popularity. the congressman with a 44% favorable rating compared to the vice president's 51% unfavorable score. both have done a walk through of the room today and joining me now if you have a guy in your ring, i guess it is chris matthews, host of msnbc's hard ball. i pause for the applause. mark murray, nbc senior poe lits call -- >> got you at least. >> when you sit next to a big gun you've got to defer. your reaction to the president's debate performance is now legendary. they may put it in some kind of television hall of fame. you told it like you always feel. you have a new ad on msnbc. you say tonight it's not about looking presidential or vice presidential, it is about putting it on the line. >> well, what bothers me is that the democratic side in this case, the president and the vice president, they have not fought the big fight. there are real drastic differences between these two

parties on the big issues. the president supports health care. he enacted it into law against all kinds of republican opposition. the position of the challenger of mitt romney as of this day is to throw them in the emergency room. put them in the emergency room. let them wait. take them out of their apartments as he puts it. he assumes all people without insurance live in apartments. take them out of apartments and throw them in the emergency room and let them wait there. that's his policy. when it comes to issues like the auto industry, it's bankruptcy. these are drastic differences. people living on medicare and social security, the romney position is these people don't want to take personal responsibility for their lives. the president says let's refer to health care. >> the 47%. >> the 47%. personhood. obama's pro choice. this character ryan is for personhood. >> he co-sponsored legislation. >> he wants to give the

fertilized egg property rights, property rights which would create a criminal lieization situation for the mother. all i'm saying is don't argue about who's taking the $716 billion from medicare and putting it into health care, these are the arguments that boar people. if joe biden comes on, here are the big differences, i think they're right, i don't think they are, this is where we stand. it should be a good debate. it shouldn't be about going into the weeds. not to wonky in the numbers. not going into the weeds but calling out what progressives and democrats call the lies that have been told by romney and ryan. i want to play what congressman ryan said at the rnc, a line that drew a lot of attention when he talked about a gm plant that he blamed the president for closing. let me play that moment from the rnc. >> when he talked about change,

many people liked the sound of it, especially in janesville where we were about to lose a major factory. right there at that plant candidate obama said, i believe that if our government is there to support you, this plant will be here for another 100 years. that's what he said in 2008. well, as it turned out, that plant didn't last another year. >> mark, there are even conservatives who refer to that speech as being one of the most dishonest that they had seen. chris is talking about bringing the fight. how do you keep from going back and forth? will the moderator have to be the quote, unquote, fact checker in this? >> sometimes the best moderators stay away. i think it's incumbent on vice president biden. we saw president obama try to correct the record the next day after last week's debate, but that wasn't as effective. >> the day after means nothing when you have 70 million people. by the way, chris, they're

saying about 40 million will be watching this vice presidential debate tonight. >> well, i think so. i think we've learned one thing. the cynicism of politicians is they know if it doesn't happen on television, it didn't happen. so it doesn't matter whether eric fernstrom comes out the next day and says, we don't cover pre-existing conditions unless you have a continuing policy, twice he said that, but romney to his political credit and ruthlessness i might say realize it doesn't matter what eric fernstrom says. with awudiences of this magnitude, if you can make cases, it doesn't matter who has to do the cleanup. how many people pick up the headlines and say, oh, that's interesting. i guess i'm changing my mind. oh, i liked him last night but now i don't like him. no, you make a judgment watching the show. >> but to your point as well, mark, you're young, you know this as well, so many voters getting their information from the daily show. nothing wrong with that.

or only seeing the snippets of these debate performances and not the totality. >> right. even if you look back at president obama's performance, he might have won on the substance and lost on the style. the style matters. our nbc marist wall street journal polls show that people made up their minds before the debates. the debates matter but the question is how much. >> chris, what do you make about the pole with the people in the pew poll that indicate they believe congressman ryan can beat joe biden in this debate? >> i think he's -- >> so was sarah palin. >> well, yeah. i think that there's always a lot of sparkle there. joe biden has been hampered in his whole career by the lampooning of him. it's almost like you play a game of -- i'm thinking of the right sport, 8 ball. you're winning the game, you put the 8 ball in the pocket. you scratch. all of a sudden the whole game is gone. he'll have a great evening and

then he'll make a comment about the middle class is buried. >> tonight when that line comes up, what does he do? that line is supposed to come up. congressman ryan is supposed to confront vice president joe biden on that line. you said they were buried. >> he has to reply. he has to say because of the unfair tax system. he has to be very particular. i would do this. i'd play offense. i'd do it nicely. the genius of governor romney last week was that he masked his lack of did he have ferchs with cord yalt at this and civility. he talked about the 20th anniversary, this isn't a very romantic advise. he called him mr. president. no cheap shots like mr. obama but then the whole debate he used that civility to mask a total lack of deference. i get the sense he was looking at the president right in the eye for an hour and a half with total disdain. i think the president to his

discredit couldn't handle it. he sh you had have looked him in the eye and said, this knit whit, who is he. whatever it takes to stare down a guy who doesn't like you. >> like i'm staring you down. >> no, you do it nicely. there are a couple of things, quite seriously. if i were joe biden, i'm not joe biden, i'd go after a couple of things hard. how does an 82-year-old or 92-year-old man, get on their bicycle, the car, rent a cab, they go out and find an insurance policy to cover them? there's no such insurance company that's going to insure them. this thing about a voucher is fantastic, literally fantastic. secondly, personhood. do you really mean to say that a fertilized human egg, whatever your philosophy or religion, should have the rights of property, should have the rights of liberty? what does that mean except it takes the mother's role and casts it to the sideline. she mass has no more choices. once it's a person it's murder. do you really believe that, mr.

ryan? i would challenge him on these very fundamental positions he's taking. >> maybe you should xerox that and slip it to one of biden's guys. >> both sides can see it. both sides can see it. >> in the meantime, the polls, we had a little graphic up that showed pole ryization. because so many people have made up their minds, do you bank on this debate tonight being any kind of a change in the game? >> i doubt it's going to be a change. we've seen very few vice presidential debates where they've mattered. democrats want a little bit of momentum. these polls have shown that last week's debate didn't matter all that much but going into this final stretch with 26 days left they actually want something to believe in their side, to take the fight to the republicans. i think that's what they're going to be looking for. the republicans want to keep their momentum. >> i think the draw goes to the other side, the republicans. >> i do too. >> without a win. >> has to be decisive. >> the team loses. >> can i have your notes? >> yeah. >> thank you very much. chris matthews, thank you.

i'm going to auction this off to your fans back there. mark murray. can you sign it so i can auction it on ebay? just sign chris matthews. all right. with love, chris matthews. there you go. somebody's getting this. i'll run it back in the commercial break. coming up, our "news nation" panel ready to mix it up live in danville. michael still, eugene washington, christ cofenuns will join us. you can put in a bid for chris matthews notes. we'll be right back. humans -- even when we cross our t's and dot our i's, we still run into problems. namely, other humans. which is why, at liberty mutual insurance, auto policies come with new car replacement

and accident forgiveness if you qualify. see what else comes standard at libertymutual.com. liberty mutual insurance. responsibility. what's your policy?

boring. boring. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me, i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring. that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire [ male announcer ] use any citi card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts, more events, more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now? [ male announcer ] get more access with the citi card. [ crowd cheering, mouse clicks ]

we are back live from danville, kentucky. one of the more interesting revelations out of our new nbc news poll, more than 90% of those surveyed in the big three battleground states, i'm talking about ohio, virginia, and florida say they've made up their minds before the key bait when the president was leading by larger margins. marist poll investigator further broke down those numbers this morning to my colleague, chuck todd. >> talking about single digits having picked sides as a result of the debate and romney got the advantage there but nothing to change -- to alter the fundamental chemistry of this race. so you still have a close race. it looks a little bit like it did, as you say, before the conventions. >> let me bring in our "news nation" political panel, former rnc chairman, michael steel, eugene robinson and chris

cofenus is somewhere else. i don't know. there you are. >> i say that a lot about chris. >> i know you're going to get in here, chris. let me start off with you, chairman steele. you have had an entire week of substantive conversation about the debate, you've had snl chime in. you've had every variation of analysis about that debate and the polls barely moved. i think republicans -- >> i disagree. the polls moved significantly. >> let me break it down to you. in florida the number for the race is certainly president still ahead. the only real movement we saw was virginia where governor romney's had some movement other than -- >> the president's not ahead in florida. he's ahead in ohio. >> according to nbc news -- >> the polls have moved elsewhere around the country. tamron, i know a lot of people want to downplay. >> i'm not downplaying it. >> a lot of the analysts do. the reality of it is there was a significant movement in the polls as a result of last week.

>> what do you consider significant? >> i mean, look, the general -- the general notion that, you know, romney and obama stood on the stage, the president effectively blinked, did not push back, that had an affect on a lot of voters apparently as we've seen in the numbers. to the point that was made about people having made up their mind before the debate, unless they voted already, that doesn't mean anything to me because just because you've made your mind up before you witness something and experience something doesn't mean your mind won't change as a result of what you witnessed or experienced. >> but we're not -- under that geist of what you're saying, they've made their minds up before the debate after the debate. >> what kind of shift are you looking for, 10, 20 point swing. >> you're the republican. >> i'll take one a day. >> mitt romney was on the campaign trail. mitt romney, governor romney, was on the campaign trail reveling rightly so he in his debate performance. i don't think for a second his campaign or you thought the only

significant change would be in virginia. what first read is saying, this is a marginal change. not a game changer and there were republicans, including chris christie -- >> clrp a whole lot of people. >> let me finish. this would be the game changer. >> if that's the case, tamron, why is all of the mashing and wlaling going on. if the performance could perform that badly and there's not a game change, then what's all the hype about? >> to your point, i think, eugene, there were democrats who were nervous and they thought the polling would -- we would see a significant change in this first polling and there's not one. >> there are democrats that are still nervous. >> there are. i don't take that away. >> they are encouraged to see that the bottom has not fallen out. the dynamics of the race are basically what they were before the conventions except romney has edged up in some places on the continuum. >> absolutely. >> it's a significant change from the debate that if you

recall, before the debate it looked like romney had fallen to the floor. it looked like this wasn't even going to be a close election. >> i think we're having mic trouble with you. i'm being told that we cannot hear you for some reason. i think michael steele cut your mic on purpose. let me go to chris cofenus while we work on eugene's rigged mic by michael steele. >> if i had that kind of power i'd still be rnc chairman. >> you still have power. let me get you in on this, chris. michael steele seems to believe that the categorization that this was marginal or the bump came and went, either i'm misspeaking or there's wrong analysis there. what is your take? i know that's a softball. you're going to see a rose i err side being a democratic strategist. >> no, i'll be pretty realistic. i think this is a very close race. there's a lot of instability against the 8, 10% of people who may still make up their minds. i think to what extent the romney bump out of that debate

was going to happen, i think it was muted or mitigated by the unemployment numbers that came out on friday. i think that was a significant kind of like wet blanket, if you will, on the republican debate and romney's performance. so kind of going into i think tonight's debate and going into the remaining debates, i think voters are going to be -- especially the ones undecided or the soft leaners, they're going to be watching the debate performances with a very critical eye. i think this is both campaigns have a chance to win this or lose it depending on what they do. >> right. absolutely. >> i agree with that. >> i think anyone would be foolish to say they know who would win this. nonetheless, i'll get both of your thoughts on this. today jobless claims, 309,000. that is down 30,000. the lowest level since february 2008. joe scarborough said this is good news here. >> there's going to be conspiracy theories, i'm sure. but, no, that's more good news

on the employment front. again, it helps void the president's chances. this is going to be a real horse race, i think, to the end now so tonight's debate's going to be important. next tuesday's debate is going to be more important. i mean, it's going to escalate rather than tail off, i think, as we go towards the election day. >> i agree with you, tamron, on the jobs numbers. we're happy to see those numbers quite honestly. as american citizens after four long years, it's good to see americans getting back to work. it's good to see employers taking the risk. let's not fool ourselves into thinking we've turned a big corner. there are a significant number of americans who are under employed or unemployed. the romney people have to talk about how they are going to do things differently. i think that's part of the discussion tonight. >> but the basic argument that president obama's trying to make is that, no, things aren't perfect but they're getting better and there's polling that

suggests that most americans or certainly a whole lot more americans -- >> today believe things are getting better. >> essentially believe that. >> quickly, chris. let me get you in. something else this administration will perhaps have to answer forgiven that this debate will address domestic and foreign policy is the situation in libya and the ongoing investigation from the congressional hearing we saw yesterday split along partisan line. i want to play what the president just said in a recent interview regarding the development in libya and his administration's handling of that situation. >> as information came in, information was put out. the information may not have always been right the first time. these are people i know, and if there's something to be fixed, it'll get fixed. >> it will get fixed but lives were lost, chris cofenus. >> yeah. listen, this is a tough one, i think, for the administration. when something like this happens, i mean, i think the key answer here is you be very

direct, you be very, you know, open in terms of, you know, what you knew, what you said. and once we got more information we made it very clear to the american people. listen, i know that republicans and others want to paint some kind of conspiracy and cover up. think of it logically. why would anyone want to try to do this in the middle of an election year? do you think it's good for us? the reality is sometimes in volatile situation this is is how it happens. as events change and facts change you tell them again what you now know. i think you've got to be very direct about it. >> yeah, but in being direct, eugene, chuck todd brought it up this morning, you will admit to one of two things. one of them being possibly that there was a security failure despite possible red flags. and this could come up tonight. so what does joe biden say to the questions regarding the breakdown in libya? >> about a security failure he'll say if there was one, there shouldn't have been. and it was a mistake and we'll

find out who's responsible and we'll correct it. he might point out that the administration sought more funds for state department security worldwide and republicans weren't willing to go along with that. so, you know, i think i would point that out. but it's really not a time for partisan sniping. a u.s. ambassador was killed, u.s. diplomatic compound was overrun. >> there was a legitimate question or questions that can be asked. >> there are legitimate questions. >> that are not partisan. >> we want to know what happened and we want to make sure it doesn't happen again. >> while the vice president may be on the hot seat for that, you've got congressman ryan just last night i watched an interview with senator ran paul who said he is taking, if you will, romney to the wood shed on wanting to spend more on defense budget, on wanting to perhaps be more active in syria. he you the ut terd the same lin

heard. the notion of dumping more money into defense and also at least giving a veiled threat of more action in syria is enough to scare a lot of people who are war weary and sick of it. >> agree. i think rand paul reflects that sentiment inside and outside of the party. there are more traditional republicans going back 30, 40 years of looking at these things more objectively, looking at the costs and all of that. that's going to be an ongoing battle. i think tonight to your point, gene, that what the congressman has to do is not jump on this whole issue in a way that comes off partisan keeping in mind your point that a life -- many lives were lost, four lives were lost, and that to be sober in challenging the administration's position. >> that particularly -- >> >> is smarter politics. >> particularly important for him. >> and it's even important

because the man at the top of the ticket has criticized the foreign policy of the obama administration but through all accounts and by all accounts has not given specifics on what his foreign policy. so beyond libya and any criticism, if you criticize you've got to -- >> some good points back by joeb. >> what is your plan? >> tense-filled moment. >> yes, chris. >> tamron, you hit it right on the head. vice president biden, what he's got to do is really hold congressman ryan's feet to the fire. he's got to make him answer the questions that they have not had to answer and they didn't answer in the first presidential debate. really put him on the defensive about it and don't let it go. you'll know how this debate is going within the first five, ten minutes in terms of how vice president biden comes out. >> all right. thank you very much. chris kofinis, mr. steele,

someone said gene. i feel like the luckiest woman in the world. >> lucky guy. >> still ahead, governor romney's shifting stance on abortion. >> i think i've said time and again i'm a pro life candidate. i'll be a pro life president. >> so will the vp candidates be asked about this and how will paul ryan defend the governor's latest words on abortion? plus, how the gender gap, we've had nothing but male analysts on so far, we're going to get some female voices in on this. erin carmone will join us on the closing gender gap. the conversation that could play out in the debate regarding abortion. ted strickland will join me to talk about new polls in his home state of ohio that show president obama is still holding onto the lead in the buckeye state where we know both candidates have been campaigning this week. and another number to remember. nearly one in five people in ohio who responded to our poll have already voted.

coming up, our special edition of "news nation" live from danville, kentucky. what newark mayor cory booker made him want to scream out. it is one of the things we thought you should know. we'll play the mayor's new sound. [ male announcer ] you've reached the age where you don't back down from a challenge. this is the age of knowing how to make things happen. so, why let erectile dysfunction get in your way? talk to your doctor about viagra. 20 million men already have. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach, and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. this is the age of taking action.

viagra. talk to your doctor. more than 50 times a day? so brighten your smile a healthy way with listerine® whitening plus restoring rinse. it's the only rinse that makes your teeth two shades whiter and two times stronger. ♪ listerine® whitening... power to your mouth.

we are brak live at the site of tonight's vice presidential debate. in danville, kentucky. according to politico, one of the challenges paul ryan faces he gave a garbled response about abortion. ryan told reporters that he and his ticket mate are, quote, unified on the issue, but they are not. joining me once again here in kentucky, nbc news senior political editor, mark murray,

without chris matthews. erin carmone and washington post political reporter, nea maria. let me start out with you. congressman paul ryan's stance on abortion legislation is not unified with romney's. when you look at, flex, legislation he co-sponsored with todd akin, we know the hot water he's in. there was the legitimate rape comment in the legislation that was co-sponsored but there was similar legislation. how unified is ryan with romney? >> there is daylight between their stances on abortion. ryan seems not to want abortion in any cases. romney makes exceptions. the life of the mother and the life of the child and so he has a much different view there and of course you saw in this iowa interview that he gave a couple of days ago he made

conservatives quite mad particularly in iowa, a pro life conservatives who very much want a president who's going to be an activist president around these issues of abortion. and i think these are issues that democrats very much wanted the president to bring up there looking at gender gap, 13% in some of these swing states, ohio, virginia, colorado favor voring the president. they want these issues very much brought out. conservatives argue for women it isn't about abortion, reproductive rights, they care about issues around the economy, around jobs, around deficit, around education. that's how they are making their case to women. >> well, it's interesting, governor romney was asked again in ohio yesterday to clarify his stance. let me play his latest response. >> i think i've said time and again, i'm a pro life candidate and i'll be a pro life candidate. the actions i'll take

immediately will be to remove funding for planned parenthood. >> so, mark, that comment comes after several articles pointed out that conservative women organization, particularly susan b. anthony, have basically put out a letter calling out governor romney on his pledge to fight for legislation that is favorable to where they stand on the battle for abortion. >> tamron, we did see from governor romney a market shift in tone in his comments to the des moines register. >> is it being too kind to say a shift in tone? >> that is the way you look at it. he was talking about legislation before him. clearly that is something he wouldn't have said during the republican primary season, something he would have been attacked for. despite that resistance, tamron, what i've been struck about is how many conservatives are biting their tongues. 26 days ago they want a win rather than pick ideological fights. that has given governor romney breathing room, breathing room

that you're going to see vice president biden and other democrats exploiting. >> is there breathing room in your opinion? you've been looking at the numbers, for example, how women voters view congressman ryan given his record while in congress and also the garble, if that is the word to use, which was used by politico response from governor romney. >> tonight joe biden has an opportunity to show the most crucial female voters. the most persuadable are married white women in swing states to show them this is about abortion rights but this is about fundamental respect to women. play no attention to the cheesy workout videos. he's an extremist. he endorsed somebody who made an extremely insensitive comment about rape. we're talking about abortion rights for sure but we're talking about sort of fundamental access to women's health. joe biden authored the violence

against women's act. paul ryan's group has been blocking that because they think it helps too many victims. >> particularly people in same sex couples and immigrants. what is the likelihood? i think it's zero to none that we will hear vice president joe biden refer to congressman ryan as an extremist, mark? >> you're probably not going to hear that. i do think what ryan is actually -- you're going to hear vice president biden do focus on parts of the paul ryan budget plan to box in paul ryan to have to defend the things that he's been for and also some parts where he actually isn't -- make paul ryan defend things he's talked about. >> how does he does it with credibility? how does he get in and merge their differences when you pointed out there is light between them, significant light on something like this? there's usually not a lot of gray area when you're discussing women's health and certainly not

a women's right to choose. >> that's right. i think his challenge tonight is going to be having to merge those two individuals who do have differences of opinion. this is a ticket. ryan, romney, romney of course on the top of the ticket. i think you've seen from democrats a real attempt to tie the republican ticket to the house republicans who don't have a very high favorability rating so that's going to be what biden's going to try to do, lay out point by point. he'd been reading that book "young guns" by some of those tea party folks partly authored by paul ryan. i think it's a matter of laying those facts out and hitting him back with his own words. $18 billion taken from medicare where he does the same thing in his budget. >> well, and as far as the gender gap numbers, easterin. president obama gained among women after the debate while romney gained them on men. we talked after the debate and

you and others noted there was not a lot of conversation -- i mean, listen, we know that women are concerned about the economy. we get that. i actually even don't like when people say that because that is a no brainer. we're all concerned about the economy. everyone wants to work. and we know that there are men who are concerned about women's health issues as well, but when you're looking at women and the president gaining amongst them in florida even though a lot of these issues were not hit strongly by the president, what do you make of it? >> i think the idea is just explaining how these pocketbook issues affect women differently from men. for example, paul ryan's plans for medicare, medicaid and what he wants to do with social security, which is basically to turn them into voucher systems are going to disproportionately harm women. there's a lot of different ways to look at how these economic issues, including reproductive rights affect women disproportionately. for undecided voters, you have to spell it out. in the next few debates we'll see a more explicit hitch about

how paul ryan and mitt romney's plans affect women disproportionately, whether they be health issues, whether they be safety issues or whether they're tax or economic issues. paul ryan wants to give a huge tax cut to rich people who are overwhelmingly men. democrats need to draw those out. >> mark, real quick, we have been talking about a number of things, foreign policy and with domestic policies, medicare and health care, but do you believe this issue with women's health is an achille's heel tonight for ryan especially if you do the ticktock just this week of what governor romney said regarding even abortion legislation? >> tamron, i'm not sure it's an achilles' heel but it has been pointed out. they think they can actually do this to win the northern virginia suburbs which is a key part of the battleground state of virginia as well as denver and the surrounding suburbs there. their strategies to win those two states go through the

strategy to have a large gender gap and win big with women. >> thank you all. appreciate your time as well. coming up on "news nation," remember this line from the 2008 vice presidential debate? take a listen. >> can i call you joe? you can call me joe. >> can i call you joe? well, i'm going to talk with a guy i call john harwood who says for better or worse vp debates can leave that lasting tingle or taste in our mouths. next what the candidates need to do to make sure their memorable moment is a good one. plus, former ohio governor ted strickland will join me live in kentucky. first, there's a lot going on today and here are a few things we thought you should know. mayor cory booker admits to being a bit frustrated when watching the presidential debates. he said when romney talked about needing to hire a new accountant he wanted to scream out, quote, obama say, keep your accountant. they're allowing you to pay only

13% in taxes. the president needs to, quote, throw more punches when he faces mitt romney tuesday. congressman paul ryan shows off his guns, if you want to call them that? new issue of "time" magazine on stands this friday. you see there, the congressman in a foot tow shoot with his workout routine. ryan is a big fan of p 90 x workouts and he hits the gym even when he's on -- that is the funniest expression. i'm sorry. i'm sorry. we'll be right back.fiona. tell me fiona, who's having a big tire event? your ford dealer. who has 11 major brands to choose from? your ford dealer. who's offering a rebate? your ford dealer. who has the low price tire guarantee... affording peace of mind to anyone who might be in the market for a new set of tires? your ford dealer. i'm beginning to sense a pattern. buy four select tires, get a $60 rebate. use the ford service credit credit card, get $60 more. that's up to $120. where did you get that sweater vest? your ford dealer.

then you may be looking for help in choosing the right plan for your needs. so don't wait. call now. whatever your health coverage needs, unitedhealthcare can help you find the right plan. open enrollment to choose your medicare coverage begins october 15th and ends december 7th. so now is the best time to review your options and enroll in a plan. medicare has two main parts, parts a and b, to help cover a lot of your expenses, like hospital care... and doctor visits. but they still won't cover all of your costs. now's the time to learn about unitedhealthcare plans that may be right for you. are you looking for something nice and easy? like a single plan that combines medicare parts a & b with prescription drug coverage? a medicare advantage plan can give you doctor, hospital and prescription drug coverage all in one plan...

for nothing more than what you already pay for part b. you'll also have the flexibility to change doctors from a network of providers dedicated to helping you stay healthy. plus with the pharmacy saver program, you can get prescriptions for as low as $2 at thousands of pharmacies in retail locations like these, all across the country. call now to learn more. unitedhealthcare has the information you need so you'll be better prepared when making medicare decisions. maybe you'd just like help paying for your prescriptions. consider a part d prescription drug plan. it may help reduce the cost of your prescription drugs. with over 30 years of medicare experience, unitedhealthcare has been helping people live healthier lives. remember, open enrollment ends friday, december 7th. we can help. call unitedhealthcare to learn about medicare plans that may be right for you. call now.

♪ welcome back. mitt romney spent most of the week in ohio and president obama campaigned there on tuesday. before leaving for north carolina, he says mitt romney is getting in another debate prep

with senator rob fortman. ted strickland. governor, it's a pleasure having you on here. >> it's great to be here. >> our new polls show romney gaining. president obama is leading. six point lead versus an eight point lead after the debate. you see the numbers, 51/45. >> yes, but i'll take it. 51, that's over 50%. if you get over 50%, you're going to win. so i'll take 51/45 any time. >> so you're predicting a win in ohio for president obama? >> ohio's going to be strong for the president. i think other battleground states are going to be strong as well. >> particularly in ohio, no other republican candidate has won the white house without the state. it was just last week where they were trying to come up with a strategy for winning the white house without ohio. they've hunkered down and added more staff. it seems to be an interesting argument at this point or what argument is governor romney going to make when you look at

the economic recovery, when you look at the wings, if you will, or the spider web benefits of the auto bailout. >> absolutely. >> what is the argument that's keeping governor romney in the game in ohio? is it simply the debates now? >> well, i'm not sure he's in the game. for several months now the president has maintained a small but a very consistent lead in ohio and i think that's reflective of the fact ohioans believe this president has stood up for them. he certainly did on the rescue of the auto industry, which is important to ohio. one out of every eight of ohio's jobs is related to the auto industry. >> right. >> the recovery act. the president is the guy who's fighting for the middle class, and when you compare what governor romney has said about 47% of americans and many of them are owe whohioans. >> the 47% never came up in the debate. >> but ohioans know about the

47%. the fact is i think it will come up tonight because tonight i hope they talk about the ryan budget and if you talk about the ryan budget, you've got to understand that it is a budget that is terribly detrimental to the middle class. it begins the privatization of social security. it voucherizes medicare. it cuts pell grants. it slices medicaid to states that takes care of our seniors and disabled individuals and it gives big tax cuts to really rich people and it explodes the deficit. the paul ryan budget doesn't achieve balance for 30 years and i hope that's talked about tonight. >> let me ask you quickly about the unemployment rate in ohio. 7.2% versus the national average of 7.8. that is good news. it's interesting. you have a lot of battleground states who have seen the unemployment drop below the national average. in states where the republicans are governors, they want to take credit for the dip in the

unemployment rate, but obviously the obama administration points to the slow recovery but still, nonetheless, a recovery particularly in places like ohio that are below the national rate. >> yes. and ohio's economy started to recover before governor casey became governor. our unemployment went down 1.6% in 2010. it went down another 1.7% in the next year and a half. but the fact is, ohio's unemployment rate is coming down. our economy is growing because of what president obama did with the american auto industry. mitt romney said let detroit go bankrupt. the president said, we're going to save this vital industry and ohio is benefitting as a result. >> governor strickland, thank you very much. greatly appreciate your time, sir. we'll be right back. hmmm. let's see if walmart can help you find the same look for less. okay. see? walmart has all these leading eyewear brands and styles. rockstar! really? yeah. oh, wow! oh, black frame looks good on you. yeah?

you can get a complete pair starting at just -- $38. really?! and did you know that our glasses come with a free 12-month replacement guarantee? i didn't know walmart had all this. the price is impressive, the quality is too! come to walmart and see for yourself. find quality eyewear brands starting at just $38. only at walmart. what are they fitting, aliens?

>> can i call you joe?

>> you can call me joe. >> of course, four years ago nearly 70 million people watched joe biden go head to head against sarah palin in the most watched presidential debate ever. nbc first read says tonight's debate could bring in about 40 mental health people because of competition from nfl football and major league baseball playoffs. cnbc chief correspondent john harwood said the number one rule for candidates is be memorable. we know that sarah palin said can i call you joe because she kept calling him in debate rehearse sal obiden. she said that on the air referring to obiden. obviously a mistake. what else is on your list? >> can i call you tamron? >> you can call me what you want. >> reporter: all right. look. i think what joe biden's got to do tonight is try to arrest some of this momentum that the republican ticket accumulated in

last week's debate, avoid any problem from getting worse. he's got the experience advantage of course over paul ryan but paul ryan is somebody who's very fluent in policy and i think what both guys want to do since they both have a possibility of running for president themselves some day is avoid the kind of catastrophic moment that somebody like dan quale had against lloyd benson when he did the i have more experience than jack kennedy when he was running for president and lloyd benson says, you're no jack kennedy. >> right. as the story goes, quale was warned not to make that comparison in his debate prep but for some reason it just stuck in his head as an effective tool but it blew up on him. >> and the funny thing is though, tamron, i talked to quale a couple of days ago. he said, i still benefitted the republican ticket in 1988 and in 1992 because i did what vice presidential candidates need to do in debatsz, not focus on the guy across the hall for me. yes, benson got a good line off

on me, i focused on michael dukakis, bill clinton in 1992, and i think you can expect that paul ryan is going to do the same thing. >> john harwood, a big night. thank you so much for your time. i'll see you soon, john. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm tamron hall. stay with msnbc tonight with special primetime coverage of the vice presidential debate at 8:00 p.m. eastern. "the cycle" is up next. that ma. with wholesome noodles and bite sized chicken, nothing brings you together like chicken noodle soup from campbell's. it's amazing what soup can do.

i'm crystal ball live in danville, kentucky. joe biden and paul ryan are here. it's fight night for the vice presidential candidates, expect both of them to come out swinging. >> i'm steve kerr knack ki. new battleground poles are out. did the debate do damage to his campaign. this is so completely